Various types of dispensers for paper products have been developed to provide ready availability of the paper products to users. Such dispensers are often provided in public places such as restaurants or rest rooms where customers remove from the dispenser a desired amount of paper products for personal use. In some high traffic areas, such as fast food restaurants, a large number of customers may use a paper product dispenser such as a napkin dispenser in a short period of time. Therefore, dispensers have been developed that hold a large number of paper products for use by a large number of consumers.
For many applications, it is desirable to have a large dispenser that will function well in a horizontal position as well as a vertical position. This is particularly desirable when there is limited vertical space available. Unfortunately, large horizontal dispensers are subject to a number of drawbacks. First, because access to the body of the dispenser may be limited by structures such as counters or cupboards surrounding the dispenser, it can be difficult to load large quantities of napkins into a large dispenser. Second, if paper products are not properly loaded into the dispenser, the paper products may jam as they are removed thereby preventing further removal of paper products by users. Third, a person refilling a large dispenser is more likely, due to the larger number of paper products involved, to drop some of the paper products onto a floor. Any dropped paper products are then unsanitary and must be discarded, thereby creating more waste and defeating certain benefits of the larger dispenser. Fourth, lacking an assist from gravity, horizontal dispensers require an external force to move the paper products through the dispenser.
Therefore, there is a need for large dispensers, both horizontal and vertical, that reduce the incidence of waste of paper products due to dropping of the paper products during refilling of the container. There is likewise a need for such dispensers that reduce the incidence of jamming of paper products and the resultant inability to dispense further paper products, and further that have a mechanism for moving the paper products toward the dispenser opening so that individual paper products are readily removed.